


precarious prospects

by TheQueenInTheNorth



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fade to Black, Masquerade Ball, Public Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-11-28 14:16:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20967944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQueenInTheNorth/pseuds/TheQueenInTheNorth
Summary: Life at court is less enjoyable than Kasius remembers it. Even a masquerade ball can't hold his interest.





	precarious prospects

Kasius had dearly missed the parties and extravaganza of court while he had been in exile. He would have given everything for the masquerade ball he was now attending.

Somehow, he found he didn’t enjoy himself, sipping his champagne and keeping off to one side of the dancefloor. He adjusted his mask, glancing around to make sure he was not about to be approached. He couldn’t stomach any of them, not even Clio, who had accused him of sulking.

A fact he hadn’t needed her to point out and had vehemently denied, claiming he had no reason to be anything but happy. A lie he could not even get himself to believe, try as he might.

He knew perfectly well what was bothering him but was loathe to admit that his mood was so easily ruined simply because Sinara was not with him. It was pathetic to pine over her, knowing full well he’d see her the next day. It was all the more pathetic considering that she had blown him off with only a look when he’d suggested to sneak her in in spite of his father’s pointed gibes in general, and outright order in regards to tonight.

He was the heir now and it was terribly unseemly to show himself at public events with his paramour. Father had found words much less kind to make that point.

But Kasius, to his own shock, cared nothing for appearances. He would rather return to exile than give up Sinara.

Now if only she felt the same way…

But no, she’d been only too happy to acquiesce in his father’s demands, even though she must very well know her absence was meant to make him seem more marriageable. With the current unrest amongst the factions, no offers had yet been made in earnest. And while Kasius scoffed at the suggestion whenever the Emperor made it, he knew it worsened the situation that he made no secret of his - whatever it was - with Sinara.

He’d been comfortable calling it a relationship until recently, yet she’d returned to her cagey nature of their early days once they’d arrived in Hala. Perhaps he should have known what they had could not survive without the strange freedoms of exile. Perhaps he was a fool for expecting her to want to remain at his side when she wasn’t trapped in the Lighthouse anymore. Perhaps it shouldn’t hurt so much to be faced with her tacit indifference to the prospect of him marrying someone else, clearly expressed by her refusing to accompany him tonight.

Tonight, of all nights. The first celebration that held real expectations, Faulnak’s funeral far enough in the past now that no one could call Kasius’ betrothal improper.

He emptied his glass and snatched another from the tray of a passing waiter, giving up his spot and meandering around when he spotted Isana not far away. Once she latched on, she was near impossible to shake off.

He was beginning to contemplate whether he could leave without drawing attention when he caught sight of her.

The white was a stark contrast against her skin, the neckline a daring plunge, skirts in layers of a fabric so sheer he could make out a hint of the outline of her legs even like this.

She was stunning. He was sure she hated the dress.

But a familiar smirked curved her lips, painted a blue so dark it was almost black, her golden eyes sparkling with mirth behind her mask as he hurried to meet her.

“I thought you weren’t going to come?”he asked, offering her his hand.

“The security’s abysmal,”she said in lieu of an actual answer, taking his hand and letting him guide her into the throng of dancing pairs.“A dress and a mask and they let me in with barely a question. I could be here to kill someone.”

He pulled her closer.“I’d have a few suggestions, if you’re so inclined.”

Sinara chuckled, hand sliding from his shoulder to the nape of his neck.“Maybe later. I’m wearing the silly get-up, we might as well dance.”

And so they did, shifting closer with each song, until they were more swaying than actually dancing, her head on his shoulder, his hands a tad too low on her back.

“People are staring,”Sinara said.

She made no move to return to a more appropriate stance.

“They do that a lot,”Kasius said.“Shall we go somewhere more private?”

She turned her head just enough to press a kiss to the spot under his ear.“I passed a lovely little alcove on the way here.”

He wasted no time in pushing their way through the crowd, ignoring the glares that followed them from all sides.

“Kasius, I was kidding,”Sinara protested as he pulled her into the alcove mere metres from the grand entrance to the ballroom.

He nipped at her earlobe.“Our chambers are too far.”

She didn’t challenge that assertion, nor the fact that they weren’t technically theirs but his. Instead she pushed him against the wall and kissed him until he was breathless.

“Anyone might walk by,”she said, eyes dark, voice soft. Her fingers were still bunching the fabric of his dress shirt.

He leaned in to steal another kiss.“So let them walk by.”

“And jeopardise your marriage prospects even more?”

And there it was. The topic they had refused to acknowledge.

Kasius wet his lips, weighing his options. He could make a joke to brush it off; they could go on pretending.

“There’s only one person I want to marry,”he said.

Part of him almost expected her to bolt at the confession.

This kiss was deeper, more insistent, saying things she couldn’t bring herself to say. He melted into it happily, the uncertainty of the last weeks finally leaving him.

Sinara was fumbling with his belt, Kasius was struggling with her skirts.

“Who thought these layers were a good idea?”he grumbled, one hand pushing between her legs, the other holding all the layers out of his way.

She bit his lower lip playfully, then trailed kisses along his jaw.“It’s fashionable, darling.”

“It’s impractical.”

“Since when do you care if fashion is practicable?”

He pressed her against the wall and licked the hollow of her throat.“Since it’s keeping me from fucking you.”

She made a delightful sound, half moan, half giggle, and unceremoniously tore away the top few layers of her skirts.

Kasius could not help the gasp escaping him. Sinara laughed, pulling him back to her.“Clio said she doesn’t want it back, anyway.”

Of course that’s where she’d gotten the garment. He should have guessed.

“Then let’s ruin it a little more,”Kasius suggested, hiking up what was left of her skirts.

“Much like your marriage prospects,”she quipped.

“An added bonus, really,”he replied, picking her up, her legs winding around him, dragging him impossibly close, her lips on his and her fingers in his hair.

This was home more than any place could ever be.


End file.
